Destructoid writes: "The Japanese RPG never ceases to astound me. It is a nearly untouched genre, steeped firmly in tradition. It beckons players to grind for experience senselessly for hours on end with an overly simplified battle system. It entertains with the same archetypal build of protagonists, antagonists, and supporting characters. The genre's males look like women, and the women look like 12-year-old girls. The games have multiple discs, hours of cut-scenes, and a massively linear style of exploration and gameplay.
Over the years, these cracks in the armor have turned into massive fissures, releasing steam and bubbling goo that have catalyzed the spawning of odd hybrids. One could surmise that the success of the Western RPG, which is typified by its non-linearity, often-complex story structure, and redefinition of battle, has aided in expanding the cracks into the gaping holes that we recognize now.
Tales of Vesperia resides in this transition period. It's obvious that the developer, Namco Tales Studio, has tried to integrate part of the Western experience into its game. There are marked improvements in the genre itself, changes that were needed for the betterment of the series as a whole.
Taken out of transition context, how does Tales of Vesperia perform as a standalone title? Does it captivate, immerse, or entertain? Is the visual art a viable alternative? Is the battle system fluid and fun? Will it transcend the Tales series?
Hit the break and I'll tell you."
Nevada Dru from Bits & Pieces explores delayed gratification in JRPG's.
I really enjoyed this article, it was a good read. This quote gave me a chuckle, because it's true!:
"Pretty much every JRPG involves the player’s characters going from barely being able to lift a sword to killing God"
Final Fantasy 15 the ultimate delayed game with delayed story dlc shoveled in at the last second. Doesn’t ring the gratifying bell when I see that stupid car at all. Article+thumbnail is like describing a 5star meal while watching your cat clean its backside.
Replies(2)More specifically I would say JRPGs are progressive gratification. Basically like listening to prog music vs anything else which imo is the best. Even if a JRPG is all about the journey, generally speaking JRPGs keep getting better as opposed to other games which usually have their high points come in either too soon, or the best parts just aren't nearly as impactful.
Also don't forget the direct comparison that the old Square Enix president made. He said Western players like TWITCH games and eastern players love Cerebral games. Now it was taken as a racist slam. But he meant it as one of the reasons outside of development time and cost return on investment(ROI). But he had a true point people here are TRAINED to like instant stuff. And people there are trained to like delayed over the top stuff. It is not a intelligence slam. I'm glad I LOVE the later gratification! Because it is way better!
The Tales games may be less recognizable than the Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy games, but that doesn't mean that they aren't worth playing!
“Tales series is considered one of the top three Japanese RPG series next to RPG giants like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy.”
How you gonna talk about the top three JRPG franchises and not mention Pokémon, the top selling series in the genre?
This is how the top JRPG series stack up
1. Pokémon - 340M
2. Final Fantasy - 144M
3. Dragon Quest - 78M
4. Monster Hunter - 52M
5. Kingdom Hearts - 30M
6. Souls - 25M
7. Tales of - 20M
Ten years ago, early in the lives of both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, Microsoft scored a coup when it secured the latest game from Namco's long-running Tales franchise - which had been almost exclusive to PlayStation since Tales of Destiny in the '90s.
Things got even more heated after Tales of Vesperia eventually did end up on PS3, in even better form, with new content and characters. But much to PS3 fans' consternation, Namco Bandai opted to keep the enhanced port Japan-exclusive.
Until last year, when Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition was announced for all existing platforms. The question remains: Was it worth the wait?
It is indeed. Havent felt this good for a tales game since....well vesperia on the 360. Namco needs to go back to these roots.
Phantasia will forever be my ideal tales game. But if they could do a solid remake in current engine I would be thrilled to relive that awesome game
I don’t think there’s any definitive ideal Tales game since they all have their own individual merit from one another
6/10 reminds me of my test score.
yeah and too humans a 2 !!!!!! get real